Volunteers sought to work with victims of Muskegon County tragedies

Ruth Neal Poses for a portrait on Wednesday September 22, 2010, at The Muskegon Chronicle Studios in Muskegon, MI.

(Jeffrey Ball/The Muskegon Chronicle)

Date Shot: 9-22-10

MUSKEGON COUNTY — In a year marred by tragedy, including a spree of summer shootings and several drownings, a group of 18 people has stepped up to ease the burdens of families trying to cope with irreparable losses.

And they need like-minded people to help them.

The Victims Services Unit — a group of volunteers who work with the Muskegon County Sheriff’s Office and other police agencies — responds to tragedies, such as fatal accidents, homicides and suicides.

Around-the-clock help

Unit president Ruth Beebe-Neal, of Ravenna, said the group needs more volunteers because it keeps two people on call around the clock. Each volunteer is on call at least seven times per month, she said.

Those who are on call have a 12-hour shift during which they can go about their business, so long as they keep a pager nearby in case Central Dispatch calls. Many of the volunteers are of working age, Beebe-Neal said, and can only take night shifts.

“You can go a month and have nothing. Then you can go ... and have something every day,” she said.

Beebe-Neal said when volunteers are called out, they meet the responding officers and go to talk with the victims’ families. They help the families with information about funerals and autopsies, freeing police to go on with the investigations.

Interview process

Capt. Mike Poulin, of the sheriff’s office, said interested volunteers go through an interview process to make sure they understand the level of commitment required. They then receive training in the basics of grief counseling.

Volunteers also learn about resources for funeral planning and how to explain the autopsy process, Poulin said.

Support for families

“It’s really just a support function for the family,” he said.

There’s no such thing as a typical victim’s family, Beebe-Neal said. Some want to be hugged and comforted, while others have their own support systems and ask the volunteers to leave.
“Sometimes we come to homes, and they don’t want us there, and that’s fine,” Beebe-Neal said. “Some are just so sad, you cry with them.”

If a case goes to court, the victims services unit in the Muskegon County prosecutor’s office takes over.

Beebe-Neal has worked with victims since 1995. Her first husband, Dick Beebe, was killed by a drunken driver, and her son-in-law, Muskegon County Sheriff’s Deputy Ernie Heikkila, was killed in a traffic accident on the way to help at the scene of a crash.

“You have to be attached and dedicated to follow through with this kind of program,” she said.
Poulin said the group is run through the Michigan Sheriffs’ Association, a professional organization that represents sheriff’s offices in all 83 Michigan counties.

All Muskegon County police agencies can call on the unit to help with tragedies in their jurisdictions, he said.